Monday, 9 May 2016

UKIP's election agent for Leicestershire has called in the police over suspicions of postal vote fraud in Leicester.

Andy McWilliams observed the opening of postal ballots where a large number were rejected because the signatures didn't match those on file. Some rejections are to be expected as signatures change over time but in large quantities that points to fraud.

Turnout for the PCC elections last week was about 20% but in Keith Vaz MP's constituency in Leicester it jumped to 46%. Almost half of the votes for winning candidate - Labour's Lord Bach - were cast in Leicester.

Almost all cases of postal vote fraud are committed by Muslims in predominantly Muslim areas and is almost always carried out in support of the Labour Party. In 2014 the Electoral Commission warned that Pakistani and Bangladeshi communities were particularly prone to postal vote fraud.

Before the Blair government introduced postal voting on demand voters were required to vote in person unless they had a valid reason not to do so. Evidence of travel arrangements had to be provided if voters were out of the country at the time of the vote or a letter from a doctor if it was for medical reasons. Since postal voting on demand was introduced corruption and fraud has been widespread and last year resulted in the unprecedented disqualification of the mayor of Tower Hamlets, Lutfur Rahman who was convicted by a special elections court of exerting spiritual influence, vote rigging, intimidation and racial discrimination. He was supported by the Labour Party, Respect Party and Unite the Union who described his conviction and disqualification as "an anti-democratic, anti-Islamic and racist coup" and "a dangerous precedent".

Leicester Conservatives have also expressed concerns about the validity of last week's election.

About the author:Stuart Parr is a UKIP parish councillor for the Brookside ward of Stirchley & Brookside Parish Council in Telford & Wrekin and the founder and administrator of Bloggers4UKIP.Stuart writes a personal blog Wonko's World and tweets as @wonkotsane.